a canopy of love

The family got together for Memorial Day at my parents' place this year. My father outdoes himself each year which keeps the whole family on their toes. This seventy-one-year-old man still pushes himself like he is twenty-five. He always has, he always will. The family jokes around about the fact that, on the morning of any family event, my father will inevitably get an idea for something…..“Something That Would Be Great!” He then decides to build it……right then and there! My mother is usually inside the house swiftly straightening up and setting out the necessities, when off in the distance she inevitably will hear the sound of a drill, saw or hammer. My mother has come to accept this tradition as gracefully as a loving wife can.

So this year, he had two inflatable pools, for the grandchildren, ping-pong, bean bag toss, Mischke Pool, slip-and-slide, another game he made, badminton, a bubble table and squirt guns. But that wasn’t quite enough, for my father. See, it was going to be one of those hot, humid Baltimore days. So naturally, that morning, my father built a huge canopy, out of two-by-fours and some canvas, to create some shade in the back yard. If he had time, I am sure he would have screened it in, added some flooring and maybe a set of French doors. To top it off, he also set up an industrial sized fan (which he pulled out of Mary Poppins' duffle bag) to create a breeze, a breeze for the entire neighborhood.

I couldn’t help but marvel in amazement when I saw what my father built for us, his loved ones, truly a canopy of love.

So as it came about, it actually made the day much more pleasurable as we rested in the breezy shade and watched our children swim, splash, slip and slide, squirt, squeal and smile!!!! Thanks, Dad, you really are the BEST!!!